Authorities Reveal How Missing Surfers from U.S. and Australia Found at Bottom of Well in Mexico Died

Brothers Jake Robinson, 30, Callum Robinson, 33, and Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, were last seen on April 27 before being discovered dead

All they wanted was to surf.

Now, two brothers from Australia and their friend from the U.S. who all traveled to Mexico in April for a fun getaway are dead, and authorities have revealed why.

Australian brothers Jake Robinson, 30, of Victoria, Callum Robinson, 33, of San Diego, and American Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, also of San Diego, were last seen on April 27 while they were surfing and camping along the Mexican coast, south of Ensenada.

They were reported missing after they failed to show up at the accommodations they had booked in Rosarito, Debra Robinson, the brothers’ mother, posted on Facebook, the Associated Press reports.

Authorities searching for the men found three bodies at the bottom of a well 50 feet deep in a desolate section of Santo Tomas, Baja California, FBI San Diego said in a statement Friday, NBC San Diego reports.

All three had suffered gunshot wounds.

At a press conference Sunday, Baja California’s chief state prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez Andrade Ramírez said they believe the three men were killed for their truck, because the killers wanted the tires, the Associated Press reports.

She said she believes the killers spotted the tents the three surfers had set up, saw the truck and wanted to steal the tires, the AP reports.

“When (the surfers) came up and caught them, surely, they resisted,” she said.

They men were likely killed when they fought off the robbers, she said.

Their relatives identified the bodies, which were found about four miles from where they were killed, Ramirez said on Sunday.

A fourth body was found in the well, she said.

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The thieves allegedly covered the well with boards. “It was literally almost impossible to find it,” Andrade Ramírez said.

Authorities worked for two hours to get the bodies out of the well, she said, the AP reports. Police are questioning three people they believe may be connected to the crime, she said.

“A working team (of investigators) is at the site where they were last seen, where tents and other evidence was found that could be linked to these three people we have under investigation,” Andrade Ramírez said. “There is a lot of important information that we can’t make public.”

Later on Sunday, surfers honored the slain men by forming a circle floating on their boards in the ocean in a “paddle-out” ceremony, the AP reports.

Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, the BBC reports.

Callam moved to the U.S. to pursue his dream of becoming a professional lacrosse player, his parents, Deborah and Martin Robinson, said, the BBC reports.

Jake was taking “the trip of a lifetime” before starting a new job as a doctor in Australia, they said, the BBC reports.

“Callum and Jake are beautiful human beings,” they said. “We love them so much and this breaks our heart.”

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